Arrests Increase by 42% in First Nine Months of 2014 Compared to 2013

As the persecution of Falun Gong in China continues unabated in its 15th year, confirmed arrests during the first nine months of 2014 increased by 42% compared to the same period in 2013. In particular, many group arrests were confirmed during July and September.

For example, at least 29 practitioners were arrested on July 18th, 2014, in Changchun, Jilin Province. Fifteen practitioners were arrested by the local 610 Office (an organisation of special agents just for persecuting Falun Gong) just before July 20th, the day the persecution began 15 years ago. Over 30 practitioners were arrested on September 2nd, 2014, in Tonghua, Jilin, and 42 were arrested on August 17 in Cangzhou, Hebei Province.

This report tracks four indicators: death cases, trials and sentences, detentions at brainwashing centres, and arrests.

Between January and September 2014, 61 Falun Gong practitioners were tortured to death, 643 were tried, 19 were sentenced to more than 8 years in prison, 663 were taken to brainwashing centres, and 4,925 were arrested. Compared to 3,474 arrests during the first nine months of 2013, reported arrests have increased by 42%.

This data includes only confirmed cases. The actual magnitude of the persecution is likely to be much greater.

Deaths

Most of the 61 confirmed deaths were concentrated in three northeastern provinces: Liaoning (13 deaths), Jilin (9), and Heilongjiang (6).

Trials and Sentences

Between January and September, 643 Falun Gong practitioners from 28 provinces were tried. Liaoning Province ranks first, with 129 confirmed trials.

Nineteen practitioners were sentenced to more than 8 years, of which the longest term was 12 years (Wen Jiguo (文继国) of Guizhou Province):

Detentions at Brainwashing Centres

Brainwashing centres, which are extra-legal detention facilities also known as black jails, have largely replaced labour camps, that were declared to have been shut down in 2013.

Between January and September 2014, 663 practitioners were sent to 119 brainwashing centres across 25 provinces.

The top five provinces and directly governed municipalities are Jilin (140 detentions), Hubei (71), Shandong (59), Hunan (51), and Beijing (45).

Arrests

The number of confirmed arrests increased each month in 2014, except in May. January saw the steepest increase (103%) in number of arrests. The overall increase is 42% (from 3,474 in 2013 to 4,925 in 2014).

July saw the maximum number of confirmed arrests (863). The comparison between 2013 and 2014 is shown below:

The three provinces with the highest number of arrests are Shandong (651), Liaoning (506), and Jilin (459), which average over 50 arrests per month:

Confirmed arrests occurred in 29 Chinese provinces, and were absent only in Hainan Province and the Tibet autonomous region.

Between July and September, 306 practitioners were sent to 64 brainwashing centres, in 23 provinces.